[duke1]

hi all i recently bought this very old volvo 850se estate non turbo and a manual gearbox she has 150k on the clock and no service history and when purchased had 6 months or so on mot has only ever done around 3000 miles between mots and appears to have had little more than an annual service and whatever was needed for mot.
so i have been slowly going through from the basics ie engine service and timing belt/serpentine belt and tensioner replacement,
complete new exhaust system and mountings.
complete set of rearlights courtesy of our local breakers sadly there the v70 ones with clear indicator lense but was cheap and good condition unlike most i found on ebay that come prechipped to save you the bother!
the front headlamps had the usual bloom on the plastic lense soon sorted with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar and look good enough now with some good old elbow grease.
i have also found she has the common leaky heater matrix and steams up like a sauna so today i stripped out the old one and ordered new along with the later ali pipes from a v70 i believe im told fit and dont rot.
after reading some of the threads here on what rot to expect (though after 40yrs restoring cars i have a good idea!) i have found as i suspected the start of systemic rust under the plastic sill covers and on one rear wheelarch which needs cutting out and welding along with the other normal old age related/rusty baggy bumper brackets etc all getting restored or replaced slowl but surely.
to add to the complexity the car has to carry my wifes electric wheelchair and the ramps have to go on top on roof crossbars so i have tailor made the fittings myself and the only purchase will be a set of rear bumper brackets which will then be sent for powder coating the way they should have at the start.
also in keeping with my deep hatred of rust and fastenings that decline then refuse to come undone when needed so every single fitting is replaced with stainless steel,all done once and proper.
heres a few pics of how it looked at the start and i shall add pics of progress and maybe pick some brains if/when i bugger it up!
also if anyone should happen to have a spare wheeltrim or 2 for the volvo she would be very pleased she says she dont like the cheapo ebay crap i bought her,ungrateful i call it!,peace